Telekinesis' Michael Benjamin Lerner

Having drummed for various bands in Seattle since his mid-teens, Telekinesis' Michael Benjamin Lerner started writing songs during early morning sessions while studying audio recording at Sir Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute Of Performing Arts. Using studios left unoccupied by his sleeping classmates, Lerner crafted simple power pop confections that, when he returned to the United States, caught the ears of Death Cab For Cutie's Chris Walla and various record labels. Lerner eventually went with indie powerhouse Merge Records, which released the Walla-produced Telekinesis! in April. Now on the road with a full band he picked up thanks to his day job as a recording engineer, Lerner spoke with Decider prior to Saturday's show at Mohawk about meeting McCartney, the advantages of singing while drumming, and why he'll never be as whimsical as labelmate Dan Bejar.
Decider: Was Telekinesis something you always wanted to flesh out as a whole band?
Michael Benjamin Lerner: I was just writing songs for fun, and it was something that was challenging for me. I didn't go so far as to think about what would happen live—or whether anybody would listen to it—and then Chris Walla got in touch and said, "I want to produce your record." Once the record was made, it kind of spiraled out of control, in a good way. It started getting really crazy right after Chris posted about the band on Stereogum the first time. That's when I started to think, "Oh my gosh, I'm making rock 'n' roll music, and you can't really press 'play' on a laptop and play rock 'n' roll music." I think it's possible, but it's the most boring thing you could ever do.
D: You met your bandmates while working with them as their recording engineer—so the time spent at the Liverpool Institute Of Performing Arts paid off?
MBL: It did. And I got to shake [McCartney's] hand at the end of the year, which was worth every single hour of no sleep and not taking care of myself.
D: Was he at the graduation ceremony? Did he hand you your diploma?
MBL: He did, and it was pretty nerve wracking. I'm a humongous Beatles fan, and it's so weird to get that close to that person who you've seen on DVDs and in pictures and listened to their records so many times.
D: Was there ever any point where you thought you'd step out from behind the drum kit and front Telekinesis on guitar?